China is building dams with robots 🤖

Plus: Will COVID exist in 2120? These lungs from 1918 could hold the secret May 11, 2022 [View in browser]( China already hosts the world’s largest fleet of hydropower dams. But, of course, settling is not on its agenda. The country is planning the most futuristic dam construction project yet on the Tibetan plateau, where its all-robot workforce will labor to build the world’s tallest 3D-printed structure layer by layer. Most notably, the engineers think they can pull this enormous project off within two years! We can’t overstress China’s ambition. But before that, watch today’s video to learn why automakers want you to keep your hands out of your car's hood, and how the right to repair movement could affect you. Good morning. This is Derya, an editor at IE. This is The Blueprint. Let’s get the water flowing. [Video]VIDEO OF THE DAY [Should you have the right to repair your car? Automakers don't think so]( This might get ugly. [Should you have the right to repair your car? Automakers don't think so]( INNOVATION [China is building a 590-foot dam in only 2 years thanks to AI and 3D printing]( [A hydroelectric power station with flowing water.]( China aims to build [the world's tallest 3D-printed hydropower dam]( using artificial intelligence (AI). Most impressive is the nation’s aim to do it in two years, with a little help from construction robots. - The Yangqu Dam will be built layer by layer on the Tibetan plateau, and the process has been outlined in a paper published in April in the [Journal of Tsinghua University](. Recordbreaker. If all goes to plan, the dam will become the world's tallest structure using 3D printing processes, smashing the previous record — held by a 20-foot-tall two-story office building in Dubai. The completed Yangqu Dam will provide 5 billion kilowatt-hours of power annually to China. If the reports are true, Yangqu Dam could be a landmark project, enabling the safe, efficient construction of massive infrastructure projects as China faces [labor shortages caused by a falling birth rate](. [Read More]( HEALTH [Will Covid exist in 2120? These lungs from 1918 could hold the secret]( [Specimens in the basement of the Berlin Museum of Medical History at the Charité.]( The COVID-19 pandemic will end, but the virus that caused it (SARS-CoV-2) isn't going away. It’s unclear how it’ll affect humanity in the coming decades. Part of the answer could lie in glass jars located in Europe. These jars contain lung specimens from people who contracted influenza during the early 20th century. - Scientists [revealed that H1N1]( — a seasonal strain of the flu that sparked a smaller pandemic in 2009 and 2010 — is likely a direct descendent of the virus that caused the historic pandemic in 1918. Important. The variants that emerged during the 1918 pandemic haven’t competed with each other [the way we've seen during COVID-19](. And the subsequent seasonal flu virus that went on circulating after the pandemic might have evolved from the pandemic virus entirely. Does that prove that SARS-CoV-2 will join the other viruses and circulate through the human population for hundreds of years? There's no guarantee, but this research shows that something like that has happened before. [Read More]( INNOVATION [Europe’s largest floating solar farm is ready to produce power in July]( [Solar panels transported by two tugboats.]( Europe’s largest floating solar farm [is ready to generate 7.5 gigawatt-hours]( annually starting in July. - The solar farm is built by Portugal’s main utility, Energias de Portugal (EDP), on Western Europe's biggest artificial lake, the Alqueva reservoir. A vast array of 12,000 solar panels, the size of four soccer fields, is moved by two tugboats to their mooring. Zoom out. Portugal plans to cut its reliance on imported fossil fuels as prices have surged since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The country currently relies on Russia for about 10 percent of its natural gas, and this [new floating solar farm]( will reduce that dependency. The solar panels will also be paired with lithium batteries that can store 2 GWh and will be able to power around 1,500 households. That’s a great benchmark, as this can help the country do its part in tackling the global climate crisis. [Read More]( MAIL & MUSINGS Solar energy is a hot topic, since it’s useful in so very many different ways. Which solar panel application appeals to you most? Be sure you check back tomorrow for the results! [Solar panels over highways. Someone make it happen.]( [Floating solar panels are the next big thing.]( [The classic: Put some over my house!]( [Solar panels + farming. It's genius.]( Yesterday’s Results We asked which snippet of astrophysical intrigue is most exciting to you. More than 40 percent of you want to unlock the evolution of galaxies. Unlocking the evolution of galaxies. 41% Seeing the first stars and protoplanetary disks. How did we happen? 26% I only care about the breathtaking photos. Gimme more. 20% Supermassive black holes. Piece the puzzle together. 12% QUOTE OF THE DAY “ We carry within us the wonders we seek without us: there is all Africa and her prodigies in us. ” Sir Thomas Browne in “Religio Medici“ (1643) AND ANOTHER THING... - Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who has spent more than one billion dollars to fight the COVID-19 pandemic through his foundation, [has now tested positive for the virus](. - Several projects are aiming to bring back mammoths and other species that have vanished from the planet. [Whether that’s technically possible]( is beside the point. (Quanta Magazine) - One of the best things consumers can do to combat climate change is [reduce the amount of food they throw away](. - A drone that changed the nature of warfare [has brought precision air-strike capabilities]( to Ukraine and other countries. (The New Yorker) - Elon Musk has declared he would "[reverse the permanent ban]( on former U.S. President Donald Trump when the Twitter deal closes. - Why is it so hard to control our appetites? Here are [a doctor’s struggles with giving up sugar](. (The Guardian) - [New solar boxes could expand clean energy]( to include the world’s poorest regions. Prepared by Derya Ozdemir and Brad Bergan Enjoy reading? Don't forget to forward to a friend! Was this email forwarded to you? [Subscribe]( [About Us]( | [Advertise]( | [Contact Us]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( You are receiving this email because you have subscribed to our newsletter. 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